dable armament that had ever appeared in those seas; but one from which the nation had the highest expectations; considering the weak and defenceless state of Spanish America, as had been evinced by the buccaneers formerly, and by this same Admiral Vernon, in his late conquest of Portobello. How great must have been the mortification of the minister, and the nation, when they heard the tidings, that Lord Cathcart had died in the midst of their hopes, at the commencement of the expedition; and that with his death, fell the success of all their sanguine expectations; that with the death of Lord Cathcart, fell all that harmony, and mutual aid between bis successor, General Wentworth, and Admiral Vernon, which are the inseparable companions of all success, in such expeditions; that by the means of that discord which ensued, the attack upon Carthagena was rendered abortive; and after a fruitless attempt to storm the city, they were obliged to abandon the enterprise, and retire with loss and disgrace. That an attempt upon the Island of Cuba had failed from the same causes, and that a mortal sickness, much like the plague, swept off the army in such numbers, that more than three thousand died in two days. And what must have been the distress and mortification of NewEngland, when she saw but about one hundred return home, out of the one thousand of her sons she had furnished upon this expedition.*

Spain, enraged at this expedition, sent her cruizers into the American seas, and committed great depredations upon the British, and American commerce; this roused the up Americans, and caused the governor of Georgia to invade the Floridas, 1741; this expedition failed, and the Spaniards, in their turn, invaded Georgia, with a strong naval armament: this opened an Indian war against the Spaniards, in this thinly settled country; headed by the Geor

* Massachusetts furnished five hundred, and only fifty returned.

gians and Carolinians; which defeated their enterprise, and the Spaniards returned to St. Augustine, with loss and disgrace, 1742.

This Spanish war was the forerunner of the war between France and England, which commenced in 1744, but not altogether the cause of it; although France had shewn a strong partiality to Spain, in all the operations of the war, and had in a clandestine manner, afforded her all the aid in her power, without involving herself in the war'; and this partiality had given great umbrage to England, and excited her jealousy; yet this French war may be imputed to another cause.

The crown of Austria, upon the death of Charles VI. had fallen of right to Maria Theresa, eldest daughter of Charles VI. and then wife of Francis of Lorrain, and Grand Duke of Tuscany; and this right of succession had been guaranteed to her, by almost all the princes of Europe, by a treaty stiled The Pragmatic Sanction. A competitor to Maria Theresa, sprang up in the King of Prussia, which opened the war in Germany, between Austria and Prussia, in 1741, and although France had guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, yet she could not resist this tempting occasion of uniting with Prussia and Spain in the war, that she might seize on the Italian possessions of Maria Theresa, and thus renew her old Italian claims, and at the same time, humble the house of Austria in Europe, and the crown of England, by wresting from her the American colonies. Impressed with these motives, Lewis XV. entered with spirit into the war, under the influence of a secret treaty with the Elector of Bavaria, that should place him upon the throne of Germany. These treaties being concluded, the troops of France were put in motion, and the war raged generally, in Germany and Italy.

King George II. by his Parliament, supported Maria Theresa, by liberal supplies of money, from time to time, VOL. I.

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and awaited the issue; thus the parties remained balanced, until March, 1744, when France and England, vented their reciprocal reproaches, and entered into the war. These powers, who had secretly favoured the enemies of each other, first in the Spanish, and next in the German war, now became principals, and thus opened the scenes of war once more in the American colonies.

Although the failure of the grand expedition against Spanish America, had been in some measure repaired, by the arrival of Lord Anson in England, with a rich Spanish Galleon, taken in the south seas, and the minister, by a magnificent display of this wealth, had revived the spirits of the nation ;* yet France felt herself upon high ground, and had great expectations from the war.

We will pass over all other foreign events of this war, and confine our attention to the operations of New-England, and the adjoining French colonies. Before we enter upon the operations of the war in New-England, we will bring forward the colony of New-Hampshire, to that eventful period.

* It was landed and carried in triumph to the tower.

WE have noticed the attempts that have been made, for the settlement of the long contested boundary line, between Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, and the warmth of feeling excited between the parties. In the midst of this controversy, the claims of Mason were again renewed, by a son of Robert Mason, with high prospects of success; but he died in the midst of the pursuit, and his eldest son stepped in, and continued the prosecution, by the assistance of his friends.

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Pending this prosecution in England, an agent of the Colony of New-Hampshire, purchased of the heir at law, all the Mason claim, for, and in behalf of the assembly of New-Hampshire, for the sum of 1000l. currency of NewEngland, which opened the way for the independence, and tranquillity of the Colony of New-Hampshire, 1738.

At the same time the enemies of Governor Belcher, were as active in New-Hampshire, to obtain his removal, as they had been in Massachusetts, and perhaps their joy was as great, when they had accomplished their object.

Amongst the last acts of Governor Belcher's administration, was the settlement of the boundary lines between Massachusetts and New-Hampshire.

This long and sharp controversy was finally closed by the commissioners appointed by the crown, in the following manner, viz. "That the northern boundary of the Province of Massachusetts, be a curve line pursuing the course of the Merimack River, at three miles distance, on the north side thereof, beginning at the Atlantic ocean, and ending at a point due north of Patucket Falls; and a

straight line drawn from thence due west, till it meets with his majesty's other governments."

The favourable decision of this long, and bitter controversy, together with the total extinction of Mason's claim, placed New-Hampshire at this time, upon high ground, and she next extended her claims as far west as the western boundary of Massachusetts, which embraced all that district of country, which now forms the State of Vermont.

New Hampshire next made provision, by act of assembly, to raise a body of men, to unite with the other colonial troops, in an expedition against the Spanish settlements, on the Island of Cuba; but the commissions and arms were not sent, and the troops could not be raised, 1740.

The next year the boundary lines beteween Massachusetts and New-Hampshire, were duly run, according to the report of the commissioners, and at the same time, Governor Belcher was removed from the administration, and Benning Wentworth, Esq. was appointed governor of the Colony of New-Hampshire, and William Shirley, Esq. Governor of Massachusetts.

Thus we have seen how, New-Hampshire has surmounted a labyrinth of claims and difficulties, and finally obtained an independence cocqual with the Colony of Massachu-> setts. That the strife of party should have inflamed the passions, and that the heat of the passions, should have involved Governor Belcher in the quarrel, is both natural, and easy to be seen, and that Governor Belcher should: have suffered great injustice amidst this heat and strife of party, is also true; but that Governor Belcher, under existing circumstances, should be removed, and that two new governors should be appointed, was undoubtedly best for all the parties, and was the only basis on which the general interest, as well as a permanent tranquillity, could

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